Three Business Cliches I Don't Like

If you run a startup you will meet all kinds of experts and advisors telling you how to succeed. Very often business cliches sneak into the advises. Cliches that sounds good, but may be contra-productive. Here are three of them:

"Go Big or Go Home"

What it really means: "No time for organic growth! Let's get that juicy Venture Capital so we can hire all our friends and buy our customers!"

I agree, it sounds cool and offensive! But I prefer “Think Big - Start Small”. Because it’s better to focus on a slim Minimal Viable Product, get to know your customers and grow your business layer by layer. Your first business model will be wrong anyway. So start small, fail, iterate, improve and build a great business rather than a big business.   

"Born Global"

What it really means: "We need an office in Silicon Valley, day one!"

Do you plan to launch your product in every country in the world at the same time? Well, good luck. It’s good to have a global strategy, but start with your local market. Get to know your customers. Understand how they think. Talk to them. Learn. Iterate. Improve. Be efficient and establish a business where you stand. Then build international presence over time.

"Time To Market"

Also: First Movers Advantage 

What it really means: "You just got an idea. Let's run a Kickstarter tomorrow morning before someone else get the same idea!"

Are you releasing your product in a hurry, just because you are afraid someone will steal your business idea? You should probably be more afraid of releasing an immature and shitty product. There will always be someone else thinking and working on the same stuff as you do. Ideas come and go. It's all about the execution!

What is your worst business cliche?
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